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HOLLYWOOD
is Dangerous to YOUTH
says GENE RAYMOND
At last an honest, intensely sincere answer to this important question, from one of the younger stars himself
By JACK JAMISON
Exclusive to New Movie
HERE'S a criticism you've heard often enough from welfare organizations, professional viewer s-with-alarm, and women's clubs. But rarely have you heard it from a star right on the spot!
"Hollywood is dangerous for young people."
Gene Raymond is the one who says it. Not only is Gene a star, but he himself is young. This, coupled with his broad experience, plus the fact that he is successful and therefore can't be accused of sour grapes, makes what he has to say worthy of attention.
"You understand, of course" — he explains — "I am not speaking of Hollywood as a geographical place. A town is a town, and one is no worse nor better than another. What I refer to is the set of economic and psychological conditions in which you find yourself in Hollywood; of the town as an environment. The movies have become a goal for young men and girls all over the country. They flock to Hollywood. My point is that what they are liable to find there may be more harmful to them than beneficial.
"Consider the experienced young players who come to Hollywood from the New York stage, from little theaters like the Pasadena Community Theater, from stock companies, vaudeville — youngsters who've already had experience in some branch or other of the theater. Not only are they boys and girls who are truly interested in the drama (they must be, or they wouldn't be where they are) but they have already managed to survive the hard knocks of apprenticeship. They have, to some extent, demonstrated their ability. At last a studio scout spots them, they sign a contract, and they're in Hollywood. What happens?
"Right off the bat — and it's a sad blow— they learn they aren't their own bosses. According to the contract, a producer owns them body and soul. He can make them over, if he doesn't like them — dye or bleach their hair, have their teeth pulled out, their eyebrows shaved, their faces lifted; teach them to (Please turn to page 46)
The glimpse of Fredric March in a "Les Miserables" mob scene, in circle, and the photos below, give a hint of the terrific tension under which pictures are made. It is this tension, Gene says, which wrecks nerves and health.
Joan Blondell and William Gargan making "Traveling Saleslady" . . . Charles Laughton in "Les Miserables"
The New Movie Magazine, June, 1935
George Arliss rests from "Richelieu."
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